Chip-integrated laser diodes tend to generate a significant amount of heat in the active gain medium. Since the output power and reliability of the laser diode degrade with increasing temperature of the active gain medium, they are constrained by the ability to heat-sink the structure, i.e., transfer heat away from the active gain medium. Integrated laser diodes are often implemented as stacks of n-type, intrinsic, and p-type compound semiconductor layers, with the intrinsic layer providing the active gain medium, and may be disposed on a semiconductor-on-insulator (SOI) substrate. In various conventional implementations, a thick top oxide encapsulating the p-i-n stack constitutes a substantial thermal barrier that prevents heat from efficiently dissipating laterally away from the intrinsic layer. Heat dissipates, in these structures, primarily from the intrinsic layer through the diode layer below to the substrate as well as through the diode layer above to a top-side metal layer in contact with the top diode layer, from where the heat can sink through bumps or electrical contacts and/or back down through the thick top oxide to the substrate. Heat transfer through these paths is limited, rendering the thermal impedance of the laser diode insufficient for the laser output power and operational reliability desired in many applications.